Racing to Love: Eli's Honor (6 page)

Eli realized his heart was racing.
Dallas said something, and he forced himself to turn to the boy. Blinking behind the sunglasses as he tried to get a grip on himself and hide the fact that his jeans were now extremely uncomfortable.

“I’m sorry,
Dallas, what did you say?”

“Would you like to come in?”

Luckily, Eli didn’t have a problem with blushing or he was sure he would have been about fifteen shades of red. He nodded with an embarrassed grin. Not quite sure if he could trust himself to talk without sounding like a bumbling idiot, Eli glanced back toward the beauty on the small front porch and smiled.

****

There was something about Eli that told Honor she could trust him with her one and only love in the world. She had expected him to be a pompous jackass, wanting to be waited on hand and foot in exchange for the chance meeting of a lifetime, and for her to be grateful for the opportunity. Instead, he was the exact opposite—down to earth, laid back and completely in tune with Dallas. His patient manor and easy-going smile had charmed his way into their lives in a matter of moments.

And the man was smoking hot.

His jeans were faded in all the right spots and cupped his ass like they were made just for him, and Honor would bet hard-earned money that he knew he looked good in them. The thin V-neck sweater clung to his shoulders and the hard plane of his chest. On top of it, the beautiful gray was freaking cashmere. Only certain men could pull off cashmere without looking like they were trying to impress people. Eli was one of them. His muscles rippled and bunched underneath the material when he moved. The sleeves were pushed up and showed off his chorded forearms.

Through the years, she’d seen snippets of interviews, here and there when his parents had appeared, and knew that Eli was biracial.
Honor had always thought he was extremely good looking, not that she’d ever let herself daydream. But damn it almighty, in person—he was so much more so. His dark honey skin, combined with the most beautiful hazel eyes she’d ever seen, made a deadly combination, and those freaking eyelashes were doing Honor in.

So not fair in any sense of the word. Men were not supposed to have eyelashes like that.

Ugh
.

Since her attraction to his looks had nothing to do with money, she gave in and let herself throw a mental hissy fit. Seriously. It was criminal that men were graced with eyes like his. Not only was it unfair, it was so hard not to get lost in them.

This was so not her. She never had to fight herself, trying not to stare at a man. She never had to worry about catching herself picturing what his chest looked like underneath his shirt. She didn’t space off wondering if the muscles there were as defined as the ones along his forearms that flexed with every move he made.

“And I know this isn’t what we originally had planned, or what we spoke of, but we’d really love for him to stay four weeks.”

His dark hair shaved close to his head gave him a dangerous appeal, but his lightheartedness and gentle smile revealed the simple man. She let out a long, slow breath, hoping it wasn’t obvious to anyone else in the room that her pulse was racing, or that her mouth was dry and her smile was a lot bigger than normal.

Don’t go there, Honor, he’s got them lined up at his doorstep.

She wasn’t stupid. She’d always prided herself on being a realist. Daydreams only led to a broken heart. Pulling her head back out of the clouds and back to Dallas, she rubbed his back, forcing herself to the subject at hand. Listening to Eli talk about the school, reiterating a lot of what they’d already spoken of before.

She needed to let
Dallas go. But something major had changed, causing her heart rate to spike for a different reason. When Molly had talked to Mac, she had originally mentioned a week. Somewhere from that conversation a few days ago to now, their invitation had been extended to a month.

A month?

Back up.

What in the hell?

She surely misheard what he just said, and she definitely needed to quit looking at those damn eyes and focus, especially since there was a twinkle to them, a hint of mischief that seemed to dance in them.

“We have all talked about the possibilities, and we just can’t tell you how excited we are at the thought of what we can work on in a month’s time.” Eli smiled.

Oh my God. He said it again.

Blinking, she replayed the words in her head, again and again. Honor forced herself to pay attention to the details, but there was so much swirling around her, she’d fidgeted in her seat until she was barely seated at the edge of her couch. How they made the jump from one week to a month still wasn’t clear, yet it was obvious through Eli’s excitement and compliments that he and those involved with the academy were very sincere…and very serious.

Dallas was sandwiched between her and Eli. His face lit up with a thousand-watt smile. Covertly, she peeked at Mac sitting in the chair across from her. She’d seen that look before on his face, pride for his nephew. He was intently listening to the details, but she could sense that Mac was going to tell her to let Dallas go.

A month away from school, a month away from home, a month away from…
her
. Sending him to Pennsylvania with people she didn’t know for an entire month didn’t sound like anything a sane mother would do. This was so hard. He was her world. She’d go crazy without him, even though he reeked like an old gym bag after he’d been riding, even though his room was a disaster zone most of the time, and even though he spent most of his free time eating everything in sight. Dallas was her everything.

Not to mention the money. She couldn’t even fathom the money the academy would be losing by
Dallas taking a spot from a paying student, especially for that long. Free ride or not, it was costing somebody money.

She was a long mile past hesitant on the inside, but Honor grinned proudly as
Dallas asked questions about the academy, about the training, asking details just like an adult would. He had been star-struck when Eli first pulled up their driveway, but that hadn’t lasted long. Eli’s easy personality had put Dallas at ease immediately. Pushing down the fear building inside her, she winked at her son before standing to go make another pitcher of iced tea, escaping not only the news, but also the man delivering it.

Watching the bubbles starting to form in the small pan of water, she quietly listened as Mac and Eli discussed what
Dallas would ride, that all he’d need would be his own gear that he was comfortable with because they’d have a bike for him. Okay…so that was one issue she was glad not to have to deal with. She lay awake in bed last night wondering how in the hell they’d get his bike to Pennsylvania if she decided to send him. But still—a month?

As the bubbles in the water started to grow and roll, she opened the tea bags, not realizing Mac was behind her until he whispered close to her ear, damn near scaring five years off her life.

“Shit.” She blinked at Mac as her heart pounded hard in her chest. “Damn it, Mac.” His boyish grin made her chuckle, but she still elbowed him in the side for payback.

He nodded toward the living room, “I’m impressed, Honor. You know me. That’s not an easy thing to do.”

Honor looked back to her pan, lowering the tea bags in, and watched the water turn brown. She could feel Mac’s presence beside her, not only physically, but also mentally. She knew what was on his mind, and she waited for the words as she bobbed the tea bags by their short strings, doing nothing more than simply playing with them. It allowed her to avoid eye contact for a few more seconds. Evading the truth a little longer.

“You need to let him go.”

Mac’s large hand on her shoulder did nothing to dull the sharp pain in her heart. The child’s laughter from the other room broke her thoughts, barely twenty feet away. Only a half wall separating the kitchen from the living room, she could hear every word, could hear the enthusiasm in her son’s voice. Yes, she needed to do this, for him. That didn’t make it any freaking easier.

She was still pissed at the hospital for running out of instructional manuals for parenting, conveniently
on the day he
was born. How in the hell did other parents do this? Just send their kid, wherever, whenever, and at the drop of a hat? Why was it so much harder for her?

Mac squeezed her shoulder again and kissed the side of her head. “I need to go. You know how busy Saturdays are at the shop. I promised them I’d be back by four.”

“Thanks, Mac. For being here.”

It had been more than just support that Honor had wanted. She knew she was looking at this offer with a biased opinion. For
Dallas’s sake, she needed someone with an objective view to hear the details, to hear what Eli really was coming to present them with. Otherwise, the momma bear in her would just pull Dallas to her tightly, give a polite
no-thank you,
and shut the door to the whole situation.

“Think about it, okay? I’ll call you when I get off work. See what’s going on then.”

“’Kay.” Honor answered with an unsure smile.

Finishing the chore of tea making, taking three times the length of time it normally took, she listened as Mac said his goodbyes, and then the screen door softly closed behind him. She turned with the fresh pitcher as
Dallas came bounding into the kitchen, skidding to a stop on the linoleum before bumping into her. She took a step back to help avoid the collision, the tea sloshing side-to-side.

“Hey, Mom, Eli asked if I could show him some stuff, is that okay?”

“What happened to
Mr.
Hunter?” Honor raised her eyebrow, but couldn’t help but smile at his hopeful face. “Sure, sweetie. Do you have time for that, Mr. Hunter?” She asked quietly, her chin tilted, not expecting him to have any time to spare. Or maybe hoping he didn’t.

Eli winked at her, his mouth forming a smile that was sinful. Thank God, she had her hands full or she’d be fidgeting. At least she could pretend she was halfway cool, calm and collected.

“To be honest, if it’s all right with you, I’d really like to see him ride in person. And Honor…it’s Eli. Please.” He replied gently, reaching his fingertips out to her wrist, hovering momentarily, only to pull back at the last second.

He had all the ease and confidence of a celebrity, but the gentleness of a man raised with manners. A southern girl by location and heart, Honor could appreciate that. Realizing she had been studying Eli’s face a moment too long, she snapped her attention back to
Dallas’s question.

“Sure, son. Show him what you got, buddy.” Honor glanced at the clock on the wall, and with a timid smile, she turned back to Eli. “Would you…um, like to stay for dinner?”

His answer was quick. The grin tugging at one side of his mouth almost made it appear as if he hoped she’d ask.

“I’d love to. Thank you, Honor.”

What the hell did I just do?

She stayed silent, only nodded to respond, but watched as the two walked through the door that led to the garage. If she had turned away, she could have pretended the feeling was one-sided, she could have told herself she was imagining his subtle flirtations, but she hadn’t moved.

Instead, she had stayed, rooted in place, watching him. When he turned and winked a second time…she melted.

As soon as the door to the house shut, she rushed to the counter, setting down the pitcher before she dropped it on her freshly mopped floor. When she heard the door from the garage to the backyard open and shut, it was only then that she let out the audible breath.

She might be a simple woman from a rural town, but she had big dreams once. Ones that involved New York City, ones that needed street smarts, dreams that required brains before beauty. She wasn’t raised to turn into a giggly little girl at a boy’s smile, or to raise her skirt when the prom king asked her to dance. No, her mother had been very clear in her life’s lessons. Honor was to need no one, nor to want anyone. The attentions of men only left a girl broken or broken-hearted. Sometimes both.

Honor had followed the rules to a
T
.

However, Honor’s mother hadn’t taught her what to do when she was at the lowest point in her life with no one to turn to. That lesson she learned all on her own.

Eli Hunter was an amazing man, here to help her son. That was all. No more, no less. And at the end of the day, Dallas would be a better rider because of it, and her heart would still be intact.

Honor watched Eli and Dallas from her kitchen window as she stood at the sink peeling the last of the potatoes. From where the two stood on the bank of the north corner she could see their smiling faces, hear the laughter through the screen window. Dallas was happy. In turn, she was happy. Until she thought of him being gone for a month, then her stomach felt like it had been drop-kicked, and a shooting pain darted through her heart.

The two walked a section of the track then headed back to
Dallas’s bike. Dallas rode the section and then Eli would point to different spots, obviously giving directions. When Dallas rode the same section again, with a different line, in what she could hear was a different gear as he hit the jump, suddenly what she would have considered awesome before now looked perfect.